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Highlanders 19 Hurricanes 30
FULLTIME
Fakatava feeds in the final minute, but the Hurricanes win a scrum penalty!
Barrett will have the chance for one last shot at goal, which would see him cross 30 points. He does it, and that's that! (HIG 19 HUR 30)
79 mins
The Highlanders need to score twice, and they'll need to go the length of the field to do it.
Savea knocks on inside the Highlanders' half, so the home side will have a scrum.
77 mins - Try Highlanders
Fakatava feeds in midfield. The Highlanders go wide to the right where Thomas Umaga-Jensen scores! Will the Hurricanes blow another lead?!
Ioane looks to convert quickly, and does! (HIG 19 HUR 27)
76 mins
The Hurricanes manage to turn the ball over, before Goosen knocks on.
The Highlanders will have a scrum in front of the posts. Slight delay with Riccitelli staying down injured.
74 mins
Both sides are making mistakes in the final 10 minutes, but it's the Highlanders who're suffering more because of it. The Hurricanes give away a scrum penalty. Hunt kicks for the corner.
70 mins
Highlanders lineout on halfway. Coltman throws over the top where Garden-Bachop is waiting.
Ioane nearly breaks the Hurricanes line, but they give the ball away where Walker-Leawere boots it clear downfield.
68 mins
Riccitelli's lineout throw isn't straight, giving the Highlanders a scrum. Fakatava feeds, on as a replacement for Smith.
Thomas Umaga-Jensen runs before Ioane kicks deep to Rayasi, who boots it into touch in return.
62 mins - Try Highlanders
The Highlanders work forward, they need to score next if they're to have any chance of victory.
Vahaakolo gets his dancing shoes on out on the wing, before the Hurricanes give away advantage. Hunt is driven backwards by Prinsep, but we'll go back for the penalty.
The Highlanders take the tap, before Ioane goes wide to Garden-Bachop who scores in the corner!
Ioane's conversion hits the post. (HIG 12 HUR 27)
60 mins
Hurricanes lineout, Riccitelli throws. Prinsep runs it over halfway, as Savea makes some metres. Walker-Leawere is called for not releasing though, great result for the Highlanders.
54 mins
Rayasi lets Smith's box kick bounce, and it's out on the full. Hurricanes lineout.
Riccitelli throws, Scrafton claims. Rayasi runs upfield before Leger takes the ball into the Highlanders' half.
Penalty against the Highlanders - Dickson not rolling away. Jordie Barrett wants more points.
He lines up the kick from halfway again, and has no issues yet again! He's up to 27 points for the night. (HIG 7 HUR 27)
49 mins
Highlanders lineout. Dixon throws. The Highlanders want to run, but can't hang on as Riccitelli steals the ball. Laumape clears with a kick, and the Highlanders return fire.
Rayasi kicks for touch and dribbles the ball right into the corner. Great kick.
44 mins - Try Hurricanes
Hurricanes' scrum inside the Highlanders' half. Campbell feeds, Laumape takes the ball at first receiver and he's through!
The Hurricanes on the five-metre line, and Barrett weaves his way over for his third!
He converts his own try again - taking his tally to 24 points! (HIG 7 HUR 24)
42 mins
Highlanders lineout after Kirifi gets a touch on Hunt's clearing kick. The Highlanders drive from the lineout before going wide to Ioane who kicks down to Barrett.
Barrett returns fire, but Hunt's spilled it! Classic spiral bomb from Barrett, and Hunt's been undone there.
41 mins
We're back for the second 40. Both sides appear unchanged after the break.
Leger kicks off.
HALFTIME
The Hurricanes clear into touch, and they head into the sheds with a seven-point advantage.
39 mins - Try Hurricanes
Hurricanes scrum. Campbell feeds.
Goosen runs as first receiver. Savea throws a comically huge dummy before he takes the tackle. Laumape runs upfield as the Hurricanes go wide through Coles. Numia tries a dummy before he runs - no one buys it.
Barrett feeds Rayasi, before he gets the ball back and he's under the posts to score!
Barrett converts his own try, again. (HIG 7 HUR 17)
34 mins - Try Highlanders
Hurricanes penalty, de Groot called for not releasing. Hang on, the penalty is overturned after foul play - Numia on de Groot. Savea protests to no avail, soft call against the Hurricanes.
The Highlanders will have a lineout in the corner.
Dixon throws, and the forwards go for the lineout drive. Smith wants the ball at the back, but he doesn't need it as Evans dives over to score!
Ioane lines up the kick, his second of the night, and he's got it! (HIG 7 HUR 10)
30 mins
Another offside penalty against the Highlanders, they'll have a lineout on halfway. Coles throws over the top and the Highlanders pounce.
Ioane puts de Groot into a gap as the Highlanders have another advantage. Smith runs into the tackle of Laumape. Hunt has the ball in a bit of space, and goes wide to the debutant Vahaakolo. The winger runs for the corner, but Barrett covers before Rayasi wins the turnover!
How long can the Hurricanes hold on for like this?
26 mins
Coles somehow turns the ball over on the Hurricanes' line! Barrett clears.
24 mins
Highlanders' scrum. They have advantage as Smith makes a run in midfield. Dixon carries the ball into the 22, before the Hurricanes win a turnover. We'll go back for that scrum penalty.
The Highlanders want the lineout as Hunt finds the corner. Dixon throws, Parkinson takes it.
The forwards drive after a run from Frizell. Advantage Highlanders, Lomax joined the ruck incorrectly, and he's shown a yellow card.
21 mins
The Highlanders have a scrum in front of the own posts after Frizell's disallowed try. Mikaele-Tu'u runs off the back of the scrum, but Tomkinson is called for obstruction!
Wasted chance for the Highlanders.
17 mins
The Highlanders win their own lineout, and have advantage too. We go back for the penalty, and Hunt thumps the ball into the corner for a lineout. Great chance for the hosts.
Dixon throws, but the Hurricanes win it! Rayasi clears straight to Ioane and the Highlanders are attacking again.
Hunt tries to step through, but he's tackled. The Highlanders forwards are trying to go up the guts, but the Hurricanes defend in numbers.
Parkinson breaks a tackle and goes at the line! The Highlanders are close. Hunt does the same and wins advantage, Kirifi giving away a penalty - this could be a card.
The Highlanders go quickly. Another advantage, Hunt drops the ball but it went back.
Frizell picks up the ball and goes at the line to score! We'll check the TMO, but the on-field call is try. Frizell's dropped the ball looking to ground it one handed.
The Hurricanes get out of jail!
13 mins
Numia rips the ball away from the Highlanders in the Hurricanes' half, and Barrett goes to the heavens.
Ioane takes it and breaks through the Hurricanes line. Leger eventually tackles, but the Highlanders have a real chance here.
They go wide to Harmon on the left, before Dixon nearly puts Frizell into a gap. The Highlandes spill it though, and the Hurricanes can counter under advantage.
Rayasi is tackled into touch though. Highlanders lineout.
10 mins - Try Hurricanes
The Hurricanes score! A simple backline move has Barrett go over in the corner for the Hurricanes after a show and go. Huge credit to Coles for his work in setting up the try - boy have the Hurricanes missed him.
Barrett converts his own try. (HIG 0 HUR 10)
9 mins
Offside against the Highlanders, Barrett clears for a Hurricanes lineout.
Coles for his first throw of the night and Walker-Leawere takes it. The Hurricanes look to use the ball quickly, and go wide to Coles.
Coles kicks over the top, but Ioane is there to save the Highlanders from the chasing Rayasi.
6 mins
Lomax does well to turn the ball over as Savea makes a break from a pick and go. The Hurricanes on the front foot here.
Sloppy pass out the back to Barrett, but we go back for a penalty - tackler not releasing.
Barrett wants the points, he's backing himself to land a shot from halfway!
And he's only gone and landed it - what a kick from Barrett! (HIG 0 HUR 3)
4 mins
Laumape is tackled into touch, so the Highlanders will have the first lineout.
Dixon throws, Harmon runs off the back. Hunt tries a kick through the Hurricanes' line, but Barrett is there to tidy before Leger clears.
The Highlanders go again, and they've got the advantage. Not releasing the call against the Hurricanes, and the Highlanders want the points.
Ioane lines up the shot at goal, in front of the posts, but he pulls it left. Still scoreless.
KICK OFF
We're away under the roof! Mitch Hunt kicks off and the Hurricanes will have first use of the ball.
7:02pm
There's a very late change to the Highlanders' side, Conor Garden-Bachop starts in place of Jona Nareki on the left wing.
7:00pm
A lot of pre-match focus on Aaron Smith - and deservedly so as he becomes the Highlanders' most capped player.
Both are back in the sheds going through their final preparations.
6:30pm
Conditions are, predictably, perfect under the roof in Dunedin! Kick off's around 35 minutes away as the Highlanders look to seal back-to-back Super Rugby Aotearoa victories.
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Kia ora, welcome to Newshub's live updates of this Super Rugby Aotearoa clash between the Highlanders and the Hurricanes, from Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin.
After losing to the Chiefs last week, the Hurricanes are now the last side in Super Rugby 2021 without a win.
They'll be desperate to change that this week, up against the third placed Highlanders.
The home side will be buoyed by halfback Aaron Smith, who tonight becomes the Highlanders' most-capped player, overtaking namesake Ben Smith with 154 appearances.
TAB odds:
Highlanders $1.59, Hurricanes $2.25
Super Rugby Aotearoa: Hurricanes coach Jason Holland blast his sides second half performance against the Chiefs
By William Hewett
Hurricanes coach Jason Holland has blasted his side for a poor second-half showing in their 35-29 Super Rugby Aotearoa defeat to the Chiefs on Saturday.
After an opening half blitz, the Hurricanes came out timid in the second stanza and the Chiefs ran in four unanswered tries, breaking their 11-game losing streak and sealing the Hurricanes' fourth straight defeat.
Holland was left perplexed post-game as he tried to unpack what happened after looking so dominant in the first half.
"I'm trying to get my head around it, to be honest," Holland says. "I feel it's one of the most disappointing games I've been involved with around how we threw that away."
The home side was cruising in the first half as they pounced on the visitor's mistakes, running in four tries of their own and looking in complete control.
"The boys in the first half were outstanding, as they did all the things we talked about," says Holland.
"Our set-piece went well, we had them under pressure and we finished it off with exactly what we've been working on during the week as we found some space that we thought would be there and the boys nailed it.
"Then for some reason, I think in that second half, we got bored of doing the right things and being dominant.
"I'll have to have a look at the footage but that's what it felt like. It felt like we could've grounded them into the floor with a couple of things but went away from that.
"We felt like that they weren't really threatening us first half so it's pretty gutting when you know that you threw it away."
Mistakes and poor tactical kicking crept into the Hurricanes' game after the break as Chiefs fullback Damien McKenzie stole the show with outstanding distribution when he moved into the first receiver role.
"We still had the foot on the gas in the second half, it was just the accuracy of what we were doing," Holland says. "When you give these boys a couple of easy outs, they grow another leg and then we come under the pump."
The 'Canes now have six days to dust themselves off before they travel down to Forsyth Barr Stadium to take on the Highlanders on Friday.
The Wellington-based side should get the timely addition of inspirational former skipper Dane Coles - his presence likely to make a huge difference.
